1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a nail starter for a hammer that secures a nail to a side of the hammer's head and allows a user to start driving the nail into a receiving body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art includes a variety of hammer attachments designed to releasably secure a nail to a hammer and facilitate the "starting" of the nail, i.e., the initial penetration of the nail to a receiving body. U.S. Pat. No. 4,270,587 titled "Nail Holder For Hammer" and issued on Jun. 2, 1981 to Ludy, describes such an attachment. The Ludy attachment includes a pair of spring arms that extend around the handle of the hammer and a pair of cantilever members. The cantilever members lie proximate the head of the hammer in overlapping relation. They hold the head of a nail between their end portions.
Other prior art references that disclose attachments similar to the Ludy attachment include: U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 299,213 to Puntillo; U.S. Design Pat. No. Des. 319,567; U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,107 to Furey; U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,679 to Nitzberg et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,373 to Aherin. Still other prior art references such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,273,172 to Hoosier and U.S. Pat. No. 4,193,433 to Sickler disclose hammers with heads that include integrally formed structure that releasably secures a nail so that the nail extends outwardly of the front or rear of the head.
The devices and structure disclosed in those references do not provide a suitable means of securely holding a nail on the head of a hammer. In contrast, the nail starter of the present invention releasably secures a nail with the head of the nail disposed against the head of the hammer and the body of the nail supported in such a manner that a user may easily drive it into a receiving body. It is a simple construction that minimizes the cost of manufacture and allows the quick and easy starting of nails.